Improved car-spring



. F. CONVERSE.

Car Spring.

-Ptented .Julyv 31, 1866.

m .N WLM m@ WITNESSES:

DLFETERS. PHOYO-LITNDGRAPHER. WASHINGTOVN, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

WILLIAM F. CONVERSE, OF HARRISON, OHIO.'

||v|PRovED CAR-SPRING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 56,716, dated July 31,1866;

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. CONVERSE, of Harrison, Hamilton county,and Stat-e of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailroad-Gar Springs; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this specication.

The invention consists in a new and useful method of combining,clamping, and supporting one or more series of springs composed ofcircular and concentric disks of unequal diameter. Y

Figure l represents a vertical series or stack comprising three distinctsets of double springs of three leaves each, such a series beingadapted, by its great range of resilience, for use undera passenger-car.Figs. 2 and 3 represent series of two and of one set respectively.

Each pile of springs B B consists of a number of distinct annular platesor disks of steel arranged concentrically about a common axis, and withthe smaller leaves or plates presented toward each other and made topress firmly against the dished ends of a cylindrical collet, A,whichmay be of cast-iron, by means of one or more nuts, D d D d',screwed fast upon' the axial bolt C, which bolt serves as a commonobject of attachment for both sets of nuts, and also serves to hold theplates or disks to center. A'thin washer, E E', may be used 4between theinner nut on each side and the outer leaf or disk.

For the bolt C, I prefer the represented tubularv form, and it may, infact, be made of lapwelded pipe. A double obj ect is accomplished bysaid tubular form-namely, it permits the introduction of a central rodand serves to reduce the weight. I also prefer, for greater security, touse two nuts at each end of the bolt; but one nut may be made to serve,While the washers E E', although desirable, may be dispensed with.

The springs proper are made to rest wholly by their margins on thepoints of support and resistance in manner following: With what I call asingle spring, composed of one set only, as shown in Fig. 3, the marginsof the springs rest in the rabbets of two similar heads, F F', whichheads, when the spring is in place within the car, bear respectivelyagainst the bolster and against the bottom of caps permits the directcontact of the springs proper with the objects of ultimate support andresistance, and affords a protection from the Weather.

' An essential feature of my spring consists in the means for tightlygriping the annular disks at their inner margins upon the dished orcountersunk block or collet, because without such support and coninementthe parts immediately around the central aperture, having a muchslighter bearing and lbeing subjected to a greater weight than the partsbeyond, will suffer a greater strain and deiection, and, becomingstretched and fractured, will .sag downward and outward and finallyrupture, While the outer margin, undergoinga contractile rather than anexpanding action, Will be comparatively unaffected, although its largesurface and entire disconnection with other parts make it the properseat ofthe chief deiiective and resilient action.

The collet A is cylindrical both internally` and externally, and is ofsufficient vertical thickness to secure perfect rigidity and to separatethe two adjacent bundles of springs sufficiently toafford room for anypossible deflection. The edges of the collet which support the springsshould be accurately vertical to the axis, the dish or sink of itscentral portion at both ends enabling the set of the spring to be takenup after a brief period of active use. The set having been thus takenup, the disks assume a ilat or slightly convex form when in place in thecar, and retain the same thereafter without alteration. l

A number of springs of unequal flexibility may be all brought to anexactly uniform standard by applying collets of slightly largerdiameters to the most exible springs and collets of slightly smallerdiameters to those of greater tension.

Each two consecutive sets of springs being arranged back to back, orWith the small disks facing each other and with the collet between them,a perfectly square and even bearing is secured, which would not be thecascifl the bearing were against the nuts, it being nearly impossible tocut a screw-thread so accurately as to bring the bearing-surface or soleof the nut perfectly true.

By the provision of the separate and rigid collet, of diameter not lessthan one-third that of the largest disk and of thickness equal to halfthe play of the spring, and having the described oppositely-dished ends,Whose Inargins are in planes vertical to the axis in the describedcombination, with suitable clampingnuts, I secure any desired tension atthe center and devolve the chief resilient action upon theparts ofthespring at and near to the mar-

